Throwback Thursday: St Germain 'Tourist'

As one of the pioneers of the French touch movement in the early nineties, it was somewhat unexpected that Ludovic Navarre, AKA St Germain would move on from the realms of filtered, Gallic house to create one of the greatest albums of jazz inspired club and lounge music in existence.

It could be argued that his first LP, 1995's Boulevard should take that glory, being a seminal piece in itself, but for this writer, Tourist is where the French producer really nailed his sound and opened up the tangible beauty of jazz to a generation of otherwise unaware house heads.

The album kicks off with the upbeat, sophisticated jazz rhythms of 'Rose Rouge', an addictive seven minute journey through sharp jazz solos complete with trumpets, saxophones and clarinets as a silky deep house groove bubbles underneath. You can practically smell the smoke and taste the coffee in a Parisian Cafe, located on the set of a 1960s era Jean-Luc Goddard movie.

The shuffling, bustling fusion of acid jazz and blues steps aside for the slurring, inebriated swagger of 'Montego Bay Spleen', showcasing Navarre's mastery of styles before giving way to one of his most celebrated pieces of music - 'So Flute'.

The frantic, blustery flute solo instantly grabs your attention, and the venom with which the flautist delivers the melody, the audible gasps for breath, the classic French touch percussion and the underexposed bassline make you feel like you're watching Laurent Garnier DJing in a 1920s speak-easy - the album is crammed full of moments that transport your mind to another place and time.

The sun-drenched positive vibrations in 'Latin Note', the low slung soul of 'Sure Thing', the rousing and yet laid back jack of 'Pont Des Arts' and the sleazy, head nodding closer 'What You Think About' all sit supremely next to each other in a melange of sonic delights that endear themselves to you more with each listen.

On the face of it, 'Tourist' may at times feel like a beginner's guide to jazz - some jazz enthusiasts have balked at some of its attempts to repackage the sophistication and aesthetic of the genre for the dancefloor, however, it's for that same reason the record is such a triumph.

Jazz can be a tough cookie to crack, rewarding and dazzling, but often inaccessible to the masses. What Tourist does so perfectly is respect both club music and jazz, and in turn tunes your ear to a whole new avenue of music.

The very fact that Blue Note, one of, if not THE most important jazz label of all time snapped the album up should give you an idea of just how well respected Ludovic Navarre's sophomore long player is, which all these years later still stands up as an incredibly joyful journey through delicately arranged, thoughtfully produced music.

St Germain returns to the UK on November 17th to London's Troxy as part of touring his brand new album Real Blues. Get your St Germain tickets here.

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